Yuze Hotel

Almost everything about this hotel was superb. We had a room with a private outdoor bath and the view was amazing during the autumn foliage season. The public baths were also very relaxing - one was located next to a stream/river so you could listen to the birds and flowing water while taking a soak. Front desk staff were nice and helpful. The only thing that took away from our experience was that dinner was very rushed. We paid extra for a kaiseki meal instead of the hotel's usual buffet offering, because we were only in Akita prefecture for one night and wanted to try some local specialties. The food was fine but the experience was not enjoyable. The server kept on gesturing us to eat and removed our plates as soon as we put down our chopsticks. Usually, dinners in onsen hotels take 1.5 - 2 hours and guests are given time to chat and socialise between courses, but we were rushed through our meal in just an hour. The restaurant was not particularly busy that night, nor were we hurried to leave after our meal, so it was not like they wanted us to return the table asap. We ended up quite confused as to why they rushed us through our courses.

The rooms and food are very good. The staff is also fantastic. The large public bath along the mountain stream has an open-air bath full of wildness. The annex also had a slightly smaller bathhouse and asked you to stay silent.

The outside and the town surrounding does not do justice to this onsen hotel. Although this is a pricey hotel but the quality of room (huge with both western bed and Japanese futon), and food justify the pricing. The interiors are well maintained and the facilities are superb. We had a river or stream facing room into the forest side and in about 1-2 weeks the autumn leaves would have turned the whole area red and yellow. The onsen is huge and very comfortable with 2 outdoor baths and 1 indoor bath. The buffet food presented had lots of choices and very good quality. You don’t feel the crowd even though this is a very big hotel. There is welcome drinks from 3pm onwards and you have many choices. Highly recommended stay.